[Ads-l] Antedating of "Smack" (= Heroin)

[Jesse Sheidlower]

Green's Dictionary of Slang cites a 1938 example from David Maurer, referring specifically to opium, and a 1949 from Vincent Monteleone, for which he does not provide the citation, but I've checked and it is defined as "narcotics".

Jesse Sheidlower

On Thu, Jan 15, 2026 at 12:33:13PM +0000, Shapiro, Fred wrote:
> smack, n. (OED, n4, heroin, 1960)
> 
> 1955 Washington Daily News 20 July 7/1 (Newspapers.com)
> 
> "I'm going to list the various names of heroin," said Sen. Price.  "Junk, stuff, H, horse and smack.
> 
> Fred Shapiro
> 
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org